I have followed Mr. Ross Edgley’s circumnavigation of Great Britain with great interest. Not that I will ever swim anywhere near that distance (*I may consider it if someone offered me a million pounds to do it, but not a penny less), however I do have a (significantly smaller) challenging swim of my own to complete next year, and for me it will be difficult, tiring, emotional and probably one of the best things I will ever do. As I said, my swim won’t be anywhere near as long – it’ll hopefully take me only a hundred and fifty seventh of the time that Ross took in total, but during that one day of swimming, despite my best training efforts, I am prepared for there to be some point where it hurts, in one way or another, and this is where Ross’s weekly vlogs have been invaluable. Watching him (and his team) come up against many possible setbacks, and overcome them has given me hope and inspiration that whatever my swim chucks at me, with resolve and resilience I will get there (and for the record, I do not include a shark sighting in this).
Several friends had also been following Ross’s progress, and asked me if I would ever consider doing anything as far. For a second I couldn’t think of a single reason why I wouldn’t, after all, Ross has showcased our coastline beautifully, and although very lengthy, it would be amazing I'm sure, however over the course of the next few minutes, I was able to think of many, including reasons such as: swimming in the dark – done it once, didn’t enjoy it. Was convinced that I was going to be eaten by something sinister. I lasted seven long minutes (there is a plus side I suppose, if your destiny were to be eaten alive whilst swimming, then if it’s dark then at least it would be a complete surprise)! Also, I draw the line at having to grow facial hair to prevent jellyfish stings. I pay good money to get rid of any as it is! And there are sharks in there – okay maybe not great whites, but large animals have been known to veer off their migratory paths before… take one Beluga whale that is currently residing in the Thames estuary…to name a few.
And because I think that his achievement is utterly amazing, when I found out that he was finishing his epic swim on Sunday the fourth of November in Margate I thought it worth driving the many, many miles to watch him finish, after all I felt that if someone had taken the time to swim for a hundred and fifty seven days, and inspired so many people, including myself, along the way, it was definitely worth going and giving him a cheer and possibly hand shake. I’d like to add that if I had friends in very high places, I’d probably be recommending knighthoods, marching bands, a bit of bunting, keys to the city, that kind of stuff, but as I don’t, a cheer would have to suffice!
I was planning to go anyway and then I heard, along the social grapevine, that three hundred people would have the opportunity to swim his very last mile with him. I was determined one of those three hundred would be me, and as soon as entries were open I applied, without much hope of getting the opportunity if I’m being honest, still I had no idea with my painfully slow typing speed, how I managed to secure a place to swim with him. It’s still a mystery! I heard that places were scooped up in a matter of minutes, and although my hands are built for swimming (and therefore the size of shovels), they are not built for typing on small screens, however it turns out that I am far more dexterous, when under extreme pressure, than I gave myself credit for, and somehow managed to bag myself a place. Yay!
As this was going to be a very special occasion, history making actually, I felt it important to make an extra special effort, and so on the back of getting a place, ordered myself some new goggles, some swim socks and had a pedicure (I know, I would have socks on… but I would know and that’s all that matters). Sadly my swim buddy, Shark was unable to come on account that she had a prior engagement on another beach somewhere nearer the southern hemisphere, and so swim squad buddy Richard drew the short straw (in so far as the very long journey to Margate with me in tow). I may have bribed him with the promise of food, but in all seriousness, I actually think it was my playlist choice that swung it. Despite us being completely different swim age categories; me being a child of the seventies, and him not, I was a little surprised he entered the spirit of the road trip so well! What better way to learn to love ABBA as much as I do than ten hours of back-to-back hits?
On the day of the swim we arrived in sunny Margate in good time, which to be honest was a miracle in itself, as we were not five miles down the motorway before swim buddy had already ignored the instructions from the Satnav and took a wrong turn, meaning we had a small, but time costly, detour before we were able to get back on the motorway once again. On the back of this I declared myself the responsible adult in charge of directions going forwards, and although I have a small problem with my lefts and rights (not always sure which is which), I still felt we had a fighting chance of actually getting there, and as the swim was time sensitive, we couldn’t be late, and so I selflessly forfeited my planned nanna nap to make it happen.
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| Me delivering a small "well done you did it" present from Olympic swimmer Liam Tancock |
Before we knew it, having sorted out the legal stuff (disclaimers), grabbed our swim caps, had the safety briefing and tried my first ever can of RedBull, we were shepherded down to the beach. The water was quite chilly, however my new swim socks made light work of the cold. I did a quick sweep of the immediate area for any predators and given there was so many swimmers in the water at one time, I felt confident that any starfish, jellyfish, mackerel, cockle or whelk would think twice about attacking such a large group of people, and as far as I could make out there had been no shark sightings in the area in recent history (I checked - thoroughly!). Just in case another Beluga whale or other large aquatic creature rocked up, lost or otherwise, I put myself very firmly in the middle of the group, but near enough to one of the safety jet skis to be able to windsprint over to it before anyone else (including my swim buddy – it’s a case of every swimmer for herself) should the occasion arise. As I said, the sea was quite chilly, and very calm for the first part. I used this distance to acclimatise to the cold and soak up the amazing atmosphere. I’m not sure how many metres out we were before quite suddenly it got a little choppier. Swim buddy checked on me at this point, and asked me if I was okay, and as I replied I managed to swallow one of several nasty mouthfuls of seawater. I took a second gulp when I enquired as to how many gulps it took before you got salt tongue “significantly more than two” I was told, along with the suggestion that I try to keep my mouth shut.
We reached the buoy where we would be meeting Ross in no time at all. The atmosphere was indescribable, and as soon as he came into view my fellow swimmers and I began cheering and clapping (first time I’d ever tried treading water and clapping – not very successfully either I’ll be honest, and I swallowed another mouthful of water). At one point a couple began to start a song, and I really feared for them, as part of the welcome home party, I would be forced to join in or look like a bad sport otherwise. I have been known to belt out a tuneless song or two in my time worthy of making ears bleed and small children cry (this was also the case for most of the journey to Margate- as my long suffering swim buddy can vouch), and would not wish to inflict that level of uncomfortable on anyone, and now I was also suspicious that my swim buddy’s suggestion to keep my mouth shut was not entirely to prevent me from swallowing more water, after all, he had just about survived (although his ears were a livid shade of beetroot I noticed) a five hour ABBAthon!
In what felt like no time at all Ross joined us to huge cheers and applause. It was a beautiful moment, and I felt quite teary. I blame the tears on the after effects of watching Watership Down the previous afternoon with my daughter – it always affects me for a day or so afterwards, and nothing to do with being overcome by this magical moment. Ross spent time welcoming, acknowledging, high fiving those with outstretched arms… Except me of course, because if anyone can cock up a simple high five, it’s me, and after three missed attempts between us, we both gave it up as a bad job on account that I was at serious risk of swallowing the North Sea in its entirety if we’d have carried on, also there are only so many daylight hours in these winter months, and loads more, better coordinated, swimmers were patiently waiting to congratulate him. I was at risk of holding up the proceedings.
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| Great atmosphere |
There were several swimmers there with their underwater cameras. One lady behind me was struggling to get a good shot. I’m not too sure how I thought it was going to end when I offered her a bit of a hoist up, so she could get a different (close up/birds eye?) angle, and I have no clue whether it turned out to be an award winning shot, but as I pushed her up it turns out that I am stronger than I gave myself credit for. On a slightly different thread, I’m pleased to say that finally those twice weekly, nasty weight sessions that I have been diligently doing have actually paid off. At this particular moment I’m not sure whether I am horrified at this or delighted, as I think I may well have pushed her straight on top our hero, whilst managing to dunk myself, and the man I grabbed whilst trying to save myself, under the water. I decided at this point it was probably best to flee the scene of the possible crime, after all, who wants to take the blame for maiming/injuring Ross with the finish line being so close?
After several more minutes Ross finally swam past us all to continue his very last bit of the swim, with all of the swimmers behind him. I have to say that after a hundred and fifty seven days of swimming he was surprisingly speedy. I had expected a far more sedate and leisurely pace if I’m honest. If I’d realized how fast we would be going I’d have probably not had the large breakfast shortly before I got in. We cheered as Ross successfully exited the water without face planting the beach. Unfortunately when I got back to the shoreline I was less successful with my exit and spectacularly fell sideways. T’was an Oscar worthy performance (I fear that I will never be rid of the gazillion grains of sand in my hair)… Worth it though!
Once we were out and changed and fed - BTW – RedBull were excellent hosts. This was based entirely on the endless supply of delicious chilli. Seriously, if they ever feel like a change of career… I suggest a chain of chilli restaurants. It was so good - we headed back to the finish line where Ross was busy combining live interviews with talking to the crowd. I had been invited by RedBull into the ‘enclosure’ with Ross to have a photo taken (I’d done a Q&A session with them earlier in the week for an article). Swim buddy also managed to get in by telling them he was my Sherpa/body guard/chauffeur. To be fair, he was carrying my wetsuit and one of my several bags, after I faked a sore shoulder. I think he offered just to stop me moaning really! I wanted to ask Ross if he would sign my swim cap, which I planned (still do) to try and use as a fundraising tool. I wasn’t sure whether this was doable, as he was so busy, but before I began formulating a water tight plan to achieve this (possibly involving elbowing the BBC out of the way), however after no time at all I found myself right in front of him and seized the moment; all done and dusted in the blink of an eye, and without having to sharpen my elbows, and he even took the time for several hundred photos (simply because I just couldn’t get the right angle!), and a quick chat.
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| My signed cap (by Ross and Ant). |
On the way home I reflected (whilst continuing the ABBAthon) on an amazing day, an amazing swim and an amazing man. What he has accomplished is simply astonishing. Ross is a testament to endurance, resilience, optimism and good old-fashioned grit and determination, and if I can learn just a fraction from his journey, then I know my (much shorter) swim challenge will be equally as successful... On the basis that there are no shark sightings and I can get it done and dusted before nightfall that is. Can’t wait!
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| Er, that's my pen... |
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| With Ant Middleton |
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| One of the 'wasn't quite ready' ones |
Once again, thanks for reading, and for those of you that enjoy my blogs, my book
Open Water Woman Swims Windermere is available in paperback and electronically on Amazon.
Here's the link:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Open-Water-Woman-Swims-Windermere/dp/1980614660/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1535300602&sr=8-1&keywords=open+water+woman
I also have a 'group' page on Facebook and am on Twitter and Instagram, where I post the shenanigans more regularly. If you'd like to join/follow you'd be very welcome. Here are the links. 😊
And finally, next year my challenge will be to swim Lake Windermere 2 way in memory of my best friend, Jane, who sadly died in September. I will be raising money for the hospice that took such good care of her. Along with regular updates via blog, Twitter and the usual, I will also be documenting my progress and training each week on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffSSIEHOBDM&t=23s
